Wagon-tongue steadier



(No Model B. BRINGK. V j WAGON TONGUB STEADIERQ No. 554,577. I PatentedFeb. 11,1896.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDW'ARD BRINOK, OF HIOKSVILLE, OHIO.

WAGON-TONGUE STEADIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 554,577, dated February11, 1896. Application filed October 26, 1895. Serial'No. 566,975. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD BRINCK, acitizen of the United States,residing at Hicksville, in the county of Defiance and State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in WVagon-TongueSteadiers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis specification.

The object of this invention is to provide simple, reliable, andefficient means to avoid the violent lateral swinging of wagon poles ortongues caused by the striking of one of the front wheels of the wagonby some obstruction in the roadway, such swinging or jarring of thepoles or tongues being objectionable because of its effect on thedraft-animals.

WV'ith this end in view the invention consists in the device having theconstruction and combination of parts substantially as specified.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is aplan view of the running-gear of awagon with my invention applied; Fig. 2, a detail side view, partly insection.

In the drawings, A and B, respectively, designate the front and rearaxles, O the reach pivotally connected to the front axle and rigidlyfastened to the rear axle, D the hounds bolted firmly to the front axle,and E the tongue pivoted to the hounds to swing vertically, all of saidparts constituting a runninggear of usual construction.

Ordinarily the tongue is free to swing laterally on the pivotalconnection of the front axle and the reach, and hence should one of thefront wheels encounter a stone or other obstacle the tongue will beswung sidewise with more or less violence, according to the size of theobstacle, and administer either blows or jars to the draft-animals, totheir possible injury and discomfort. To prevent the sidewise movementof the tongue under the circumstances noted, Iprovide thefollowing-described mechanism: On a shaft F journaled vertically in anopening in the reach is a comparatively heavy wheel G, locatedpreferably below the reach a short distance in rear of its pivotalconnection with the front axle. Also on said shaft, but above the reach,is a pinion II that meshes with a gear-wheel I on a second shaft Jlikewisejournaled vertically in an opening in the reach and havingbeneath the latter a sprocket-wheel K over which is passed achain L,whose ends, after passing in opposite directions over wheels M and M,pivoted to the under side of the reach, are attached, respectively, tothe rear ends of the hounds D.

It will be seen that the front axle cannot turn on its pivot withoutrevolving the wheel G, and the latter is so geared to the axle as torequire more power than that usually exerted when obstacles are struckby a front wheel to cause the revolution of said wheel G. At the sametime, as the leverage exerted by the axle is much less than that whichis available through the tongue, it will be seen that ample resistanceto the turning of the axle when a wheel encounters an obstacle isafforded without materially hampering the turning thereof by means ofthe tongue when it is desired so to do to guide the vehicle or for otherpurposes.

While I prefer the specific construction of parts shown, I of course donot limit myself thereto, nor to the use of my invention on anyparticular type of wagon.

That I claim is- 1. In combination with the pivoted tongue of a vehicle,a wheel, suitably supported, and

connections between the wheel and the tongue, whereby the swinging ofthe tongue in either direction may revolve the wheel.

2. In combination with the front axle of a vehicle, the tongue attachedthereto, the reach pivoted to the axle, the wheel supported by thereach, the chain connected at its ends to the tongue, the wheels on thereach over which the chain passes in opposite directions, and gearingbetween the chain and the wheel. In testimony whereof I affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

EDI/VARD BRINCK. Witnesses:

W. 0. Huenns, J. HILLIARD.

